The Beacon Extinguished and Justice in Chains
In the waters off the eastern coast of this nation lies a small island. Upon that island is erected a mighty pedestal. Standing on it is Lady Liberty herself. Proud and defiant, her foot has broken the chains and shackles that bound her children in servitude towards a tyrannical king. In one hand she holds the tablet celebrating the date of manumission from slavery and in her other hand she holds aloft a brightly burning torch. She gazes upon the sea and bids welcome to all those who seek refuge upon these shores. Thus, she has stood for almost 150 years, serving as a symbol for the countless masses who have fled their native lands from the storms of oppression in search of freedom and opportunity.
Yet now her torch has all but been extinguished. Her face has grown cold and lined with fear, exhaustion, and despair. Along with her kinswoman, Dame Justice, she lies broken, bound in chains of hatred and ignorance, forged anew by petty yet powerful men.
While this striking image on the outset seems rather hyperbolic, it perfectly exemplifies where we now find ourselves as a nation. We see an immigration system that is utterly broken and dehumanizing. Rather than providing more avenues for legal immigration we make it increasingly difficult to legally cross our borders. Instead, we see increased restrictions and watch as families eager to start new lives as they wait in limbo in the increasingly Byzantine bureaucracy that is the Immigration and Naturalization Service, not knowing what their fates will be. While in previous administrations, they at least had hopes of some protection and dignity while awaiting rulings from the immigration courts, this is no longer the case.
Under the direction of President Trump and his loyal toadies, migrants both documented and undocumented are living in a perpetual state of fear. Having been branded and demonized as murders, terrorists, and invaders, the administration has made it clear that they will detain and deport any and all migrants, permanent residents, visa holders, and indeed even some American citizens without regard to due process and the law.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen this play out in real time and each day the stories are more horrific. Whether it is 10-year-old American cancer patients being deported along with their undocumented parents, or restaurant owners being indefinitely detained, more and more we prove the lie that only “hardened criminals and terrorists” are being arrested in immigration raids.
What is particularly egregious in all these instances is that for many of those being detained and deported, their only crimes were illegally crossing the border. In all other ways they have been law-abiding and contributive members of their communities. Yet now they find themselves in dank, crowded private detention facilities only waiting for the next military aircraft where they will be led aboard in shackles and exiled.
Perhaps the most terrifying part of this scenario is that Mr. Trump’s administration is not granting due process for those caught up in these raids nor abiding by court orders. We have recently seen stories of Venezuelans protected by court orders who have been arrested as alleged members of the notorious MS-13 and Tren Araugo gangs and sent to the maximum security and inhumane CECOT prison in El Salvador. Amongst these Venezuelans are members of the LGBT community, barbers, fathers, and autism awareness advocates whose only crimes were either being victims of “administrative errors” or having tattoos that have superficial resemblance to some gang tattoos. Rather than admitting their errors and gaining these deportees their freedom, the administration has washed their hands of the matter. They refuse to lift a finger to bring them back to the United States and moreover continued to deport them after being ordered to stand down any flights and bring flights in the air back. Now these men are at risk of violence in a prison notorious for human rights abuses with no hope of reprieve or protection.
Yet as frightening as that scenario is, what should alarm us even more is visas and green cards being revoked at the whims of a petty tyrant and his minions. Whether it is a permanent resident being arrested in front of his pregnant wife for peacefully protesting Israeli war crimes and for advocating for the Palestinian people, or for a PhD Muslim student being arrested by six masked agents in plainclothes on her way to break her fast from Ramadan, this should serve as a warning sign.
We fear that these incidents are serving as a litmus test for this would be emperor and his army of loyalists. If we fail to speak up against these egregious abuses of the law and authority, who then will be the next? Will it be the senior citizen who protests Social Security cuts and is bundled in the back of an unmarked van? Will it be a young mother torn from her children for daring to speak up for her rights? Will it be a teacher or college professor who dares to challenge his or her students to think critically? Or will it be you? If Lady Liberty’s torch is ever to be relit or Dame Justice’s scales be balanced again, then it remains for us as the body politic to protect our courts and institutions and demand an end to these injustices.
Signed,
Themis Libertas Vigile
